​Instructor: Jackie Smithson, MS
Course length: 40 hours

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Advanced Crime Scene Documentation

The 5-day (40 hour) Advanced Crime Scene Documentation course combines the full course contents of both the Bloodstain Pattern Documentation course and the Shooting Incident Documentation course into one.

Bloodstain Pattern Documentation
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When responding to scenes where blood has been shed, it is essential for investigators to ensure that the patterns formed by bloodstains are preserved and documented.  In cases where the scene will not be visited by a qualified bloodstain pattern analyst, the correct documentation of these bloodstains will permit this type of analysis to be performed later in the investigation.  Improper documentation can lead to instances where no analysis is possible or where such analysis is less meaningful and useful.

This course is designed for the student who wants to learn how to correctly recognize, document, and collect bloodstains and bloodstain patterns for later analysis by a bloodstain pattern analyst.  Students will be taught terminology, pattern recognition, and documentation methods that will ensure the possibility that the patterns can be reconstructed and analyzed at a later date.  Classroom presentations are supplemented with practical exercises and hands-on activities.

By the end of the training the student will understand the importance of properly documenting and collecting bloodstained evidence in the context of the overall event reconstruction. This class will be useful to investigators, crime scene personnel involved in documenting and collecting at scenes, and laboratory personnel who test bloodstained evidence.

No prerequisites needed.

BPD Course Objectives

• Understand bloodstain pattern terminology and its application to the scene
• Develop an understanding of the physical characteristics of bloodstain patterns
• Learn how to correctly document and collect bloodstains and bloodstain patterns
  • Avoiding distortion
  • Avoiding incorrect exposures that obscure or remove detail
  • Avoiding insufficient detail and resolution

BPD Course Content
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• What is BPA and what can it do for you?
• BPA Terminology
• Pattern Recognition
• Documenting the crime scene and collecting evidence
  • Photography
  • Sketches
  • Note Taking
  • DNA Collection
• Documenting the body and collecting evidence
  • Photography
  • Sketches
  • Note Taking
  • DNA Collection
• Documenting impact patterns
  • Photography
  • Sketches
  • Note Taking

Shooting Incident Documentation

Detectives and forensic investigators are frequently summoned to scenes of violence involving firearms. These incidents, including homicides and officer-involved shootings, should be investigated to their logical conclusion. That requires an understanding of the firearms related evidence at the scene and how to properly document it.

This course teaches the student how to properly interpret physical evidence and to document the scene through note taking, diagramming, and photography. Use of rods, lasers, and protractors will be covered, as will the use of mathematics in determining bullet flight paths.

This is designed as an introduction to the 40-hour Shooting Incident Reconstruction course or as a standalone course for those students more concerned with documenting scenes as opposed to reconstructing them.

SID Course Content:
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Day 1 Intro / Shooting Reconstruction Concepts

• Firearms & Ammunition Component
  – Exercise 1: Firearms & Ammunition Practical
• Shooting Scene Documentation
• Defect Characteristics & Target Surface Considerations
  – Exercise 2: Bullet Impact Exercise

Day 2 Review Defect Characteristics & Day 1 Exercises
          – Exercise 3: Defect Characteristics & Target Surface

• Chemical Testing of Defects
  – Exercise 4: Chemical Testing
• The Laboratory’s Role in Shooting Reconstruction
• Flight Path Rods
  – Exercise 5: Flight Path Rods / Use of Lasers
• Vehicles
  – Exercise 6: Vehicles

Day 3 Mathematics in Shooting Reconstruction
           – Exercise 7: Mathematics

• Class Wrap-up & Certificates
  
  

This course does not include live-fire exercises


The Bloodstain Pattern Documentation course and the Shooting Incident Documentation course have been approved for 20 hours each of certification/re-certification training credit by the IAI Crime Scene Certification Board.

Jackie Smithson, MS

Jackie Smithson is a career law enforcement officer in Oklahoma, having served the last 15 years as a forensic investigator while concurrently teaching as an adjunct professor of criminal justice. He spent the first several years of his career with Broken Arrow assigned to the Uniformed Patrol Division then the Traffic Specialist Unit.  His inquisitive nature lead him to request a transfer to the Crime Scene Unit where he still serves.

​He continued his education and earned a Master of Science degree at Northeastern State University, publishing his thesis on collecting bullet trajectories in soil. He later accepted a position at his alma mater as an adjunct professor as well as at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith.  Additionally, Jackie has been asked by several other universities, including Oklahoma State University School of Forensic Science, to guest lecture in the field of forensics and has instructed for the State of Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training basic police academy.  

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